There are three ways of doing this: Buy a hand pump texture gun from home improvement stores or online and spray on a layer of texture. When you have identified a crack in a ceiling that you think might be caused by something serious, you will need to see if the crack widens, lengthens, changes direction or generally moves. A discoloured crack. If the condition of the ceiling is bad to begin with, then a few crack repairs won’t really make a lot of difference. Subsoil is normally compressed so much that it is quite solid and stable. Before you attempt either of these it is a good idea to remove all the furniture, roll up and store the carpet somewhere safe and seal all internal entrances to prevent the spread of plaster dust within the house. Additional weight upstairs. The crack is just a way for the building to release the stress and settle down into a relaxed state. Lightly sand with a 120-grit sanding block then gently damp-sponge these areas to remove sanding dust and follow up with another coat of calcimine coating paint (or oil-based primer). Quality of product. The house expanded upwards because of the reduced load, and then contracted again when the new roof tiles were installed. The concrete is supported by the subsoil or bedrock deep within the ground. Cracks can occur anywhere on your ceiling: If the cracks occur near the edges of the ceiling then they will most likely be caused by aging and settlement. The other type of crack can be repaired either yourself as a DIY project or by a contractor. All this information will be useful to the professional so keep a journal of how and when they change and make a note if you see any relationship with outside influences. If you live on an estate that is still being built, live near a busy road or airport, or live above an underground railway, you will experience vibration from the continual movement of heavy traffic and large vehicles. Repeat the scrubbing, sudsing, squeegee process several times, using clean water and fresh detergent each time. The majority of cracks in the ceiling are caused by settlement in the house and expansion and contraction of the building materials during the settling. The wind outside your house blows against the outside walls and roof. Primer is thinner than paint and acts as a protective sealer and bonding agent. Once you have scraped off the loose paint, you can either scrape off the calcimine or gently wash it away in just the scraped areas. Never underestimate the power of YouTube. No matter how good your patch is, it will nearly always show unless you have the whole ceiling or wall skimmed with plaster. Indow's window inserts help save energy and cut back on drafts and UV light. Temperature variation between day and night. Ample suds, and plenty of vigorous scrubbing, are the only secrets for loosening the glue in old calcimine paint. A fine straight crack. Plaster walls and ceilings are common in older homes. Different methods require different products and each of those have their own pros and cons. When using the commercially available products always follow the manufacturer’s instructions and follow some simple, basic safety procedures to ensure you and your family stay safe. For any new paint to adhere in a smooth and long-lasting surface, you must remove as much of the calcimine as possible. Expect some variation in the quoted prices. Specialists in Tuckpointing and Historic Brick Preservation, Tuckpointing Gives Historic DC Buildings New Life, Ross Elementary School | Chimney Restoration. Be warned, most external emulsion paints contain special water proofers and fungicides which give off fumes as they dry. Then you will begin to see the plaster beneath, and the scraper will stop generating the chalky dust. The crack can be left alone or covered with a decorative coving. If the crack is between drywall sheets along ceiling joists then use drywall screws to hold the two sheets of plasterboard immobile and approximately level with each other. Depending on the terms of your contract you may be able to have all work done to repair the fault paid for by the insurance company (minus any excess payment of course). Plaster dust will be produced when you clean out the cracks, sand down the surfaces and when you mix dry powder with water. Combined together, the tiny increases in weight have added up to a considerable extra load. However what you forgot is that you relieved the walls and foundations of a considerable weight when you removed the roof. Once it is stuck you use joint filling compound and mesh tape to blend it into the rest of the area. But the outer paper surface requires a drywall primer prior to painting -- without it, expect trouble. Step 3: While the surface is still foamy, use a squeegee tool or large sponge to remove the foam and water. Movement of the house caused by the wind. This is often caused by water damage to the exterior brick and mortar. However, if an acrylic paint is applied to the exterior, it acts like waterproofing on that wall. The rubbing alcohol experiment will remove the top layers of latex paint, then stop when it reaches the oil layer. You can buy a very heavy duty lining paper to cover your walls which when painted effectively disguises any cracks and patches you may have. With proper repairs you can maintain the restoration of your historic DC brick home, and ensure that it will last for decades and generations to come. This will often occur if you have done some major construction like building a first floor addition to your house. Be aware that although plasterboard (drywall) will resist a small bit of moisture, for long term exposure or in the case of a major leak, you may have to remove and replace either a full sheet or cut out a section and replace it with a patch. Plaster walls and ceilings are common in older homes. She writes friendly, conversational business, home and lifestyle articles for Bizfluent, azcentral, Daltile, Marazzi, Lowes, Philips Lighting, WordPress.com and numerous other publications. Or are they? They have far more furniture and use all the rooms far more than the previous single person ever did. You can use the video tutorial to learn how to reattach the plaster … If you have a very small area that is peeling you might want to start with this approach. Let us know what you think of the information provided in this article. How to Paint a Plaster Fireplace Surround, How to Paint or Resurface a Blown Ceiling, The Effects of Not Priming Walls Before Paint. Do You See Bubbling on Your Interior Plaster Walls? This tip works not only for cracks, but also if you have a piece of damaged drywall, say from a plumbing leak or a hard knock. The traditional materials used to build historic brick homes have held up over time due in part to the way they allow moisture to move safely through them. Sometimes however the extra weight will cause damage to not only the foundations but parts of the building on all floors as the size of rafters, ceiling joists and load bearing walls will also have been calculated to accommodate the weight of the roof as well. The purpose of the building foundation is to give a strong immobile base to the building to prevent subsidence and other collapse taking place. Repair. Fill the crack with jointing compound just like you would any other crack. Paint the new surface to match the existing. The moisture from the first coat moves back into the lath and results in bulges at the seams, or every 16 inches in one direction. Economic pressures are always forcing the construction team to finish the work as quickly as possible and an inaccurate assessment of how dry the plaster has become will mean the surface is painted quicker than it should be. Then remove the loose tape and replace with fresh tape and jointing compound. Enjoy modern comfort while preserving the charm of your original windows. These  movements are usually made visible as cracks in the brittle plaster surface. Moisture blistering can be caused by the migration of water through an interior wall to the exterior, thus pushing the paint off of the surface. You may see multiple cracks or bulges running parallel on the ceiling like in the picture, which is a sure sign of plaster pulling away from the lath. This is often caused by water damage to the exterior brick and mortar. Use this indication to find the cause of the problem before going for costly wall repairs. That is why cracks in the plaster are most common. But controlling dryness that can cause cracking, or an onslaught of moisture that can lead to a mold problem and structurally-damaging rot, is likely the ideal solution. You can buy ceiling repair kits from home improvement centres if you want to take the easy way out. If you have a stained ceiling as a result of water leaks, then you need to cover the discolouration with something before you use emulsion paint. The first process is to identify for sure that you are dealing with a calcimine problem and assess the kinds of paints that might be coated over it. Foundations. Working with wet plaster is dangerous if you are near exposed electrical cables such as ceiling light fittings. If however the crack is caused by a structural problem then you will have to get your household insurance company involved. To prevent cracks forming in the plaster it must be allowed to dry out slowly, but this is not always possible. Simply repainting the surface will not, unfortunately, make your problems go away. If you want to fill the shallow craters where the paint chips were.